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Showing posts with label megalong Valley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label megalong Valley. Show all posts

Saturday, 4 June 2016

NELLIES (NELLY’S) GLEN KATOOMBA


NELLIES (NELLY’S) GLEN KATOOMBA

1909 Map of the Bonnie Doon track network
Both spellings have been used over the years, so I’ve used both in this Blog!
Located on the western side of Katoomba, Nelly’s Glen provides a way into the Megalong Valley from the plateau. It was no doubt used by indigenous people as one of their many routes up the barrier of sandstone which surrounds all the Blue Mountains valleys. When coal and kerosene shale mining became profitable enterprises (around 1870), the Glen provided one of the safest routes up to the railway and the western road. All this happened before the establishment of the township of Katoomba.
The expansion of mining under the leadership of John Britty North (1879/80) and the subsequent growth of Katoomba led to the Glen being visited by a growing number of visitors (tourists, we would say). The first reference in print to the name “Nellie’s Glen” that I have found is in a real estate advertisement for the sale of subdivided land owned by JB North, in the Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 25th August 1883. The Glen appears to have been named for one of North’s daughters.
The growth of tourist numbers to Jenolan Caves led to the construction of a bridle track linking it with Katoomba. These were the days when horses were indispensable in moving people around. The Tarana and Mt Victoria routes were the most commonly used and it was becoming clear that the Mt Victoria route via Hartley and the present Jenolan Caves road was superior and that this would lead to more and more tourists using Mt Victoria as a base.
Nelly's Glen from Cahill's Lookout
A glance at any map will show that, as the crow flies, Katoomba is the closest mountain town to the Caves. However, the valley of Cox’s River lies in between, making it unlikely that a road for wheeled vehicles could be built to the Caves that way.
The entrepreneurial leaders of the Katoomba community saw that a bridle track, descending into the valley via Nelly’s Glen, could provide a way of drawing visitors to Katoomba. This was the origin of today’s “Six Foot Track”, which is now used by pedestrian traffic only.
Nelly's Glen from North's Lookout
A report and rough survey was commissioned by the NSW government in 1884. We are fortunate that Mr WM Cooper (described as “Surveyor of Public Parks”) wrote a report in 1885 titled “Track from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves”. You can download a copy from Trove here. Cooper does not use the name Nelly’s Glen, referring only to “Megalong Cleft”, which I understand to mean the narrow gap in the cliffs where today’s steps lead down into the valley below. “Nelly’s Glen” includes the Cleft and the widening valley below it where Megalong Creek runs down to join Cox’s River, though where the Glen becomes Megalong Valley I can’t say.
From the Sydney Mail 4th October 1890
The track was quickly constructed and soon in use by those looking for an adventurous route to the Caves. The name “Six Foot Track” was given later because it was constructed wide enough for two horses to pass without requiring a rider to dismount. The illustrations shown here are of the section immediately below the cliff line, in the vicinity of Ethel Waterfall. Naturally most of the route was not constructed to this standard. The main descent down the Cleft was built as a zig-zag to lessen the grade. Nearly all of this track was destroyed by the ravages of time and the misguided attempt by the Blue Mountains City Council to construct a fire road down the Glen in the 1960’s.
More recently, the entire Six Foot Track route was reconstructed and has become a very popular walking (and running) track. Where the zig-zag track descended through Megalong Cleft there are now hundreds of well-made steps. If you are planning to visit the place, make sure it’s not at
Katoomba Leura Tourist Guide 1905
the same time as one of the running events which bring crowds of athletes pounding up and down the steps. To me, such activities are akin to staging a race through a public library or a cathedral. They have no place in what should be the peace and quiet of our National Parks and reserves.
More reading material: From Katoomba to Jenolan Caves The Six Foot Track, 1884-1984 by Jim Smith. You can try Megalong Books in Leura or Lamdha Books in Wentworth Falls for a copy.
Bush walking guides: WildWalks - Nelly's Glen Lookout (here), Nellies Glen and the Devil's Hole (here).
Tourist Sketch Map Showing Paths at Nelly’s Glen or Megalong Pass 1909 (here). If you look carefully you will see that there are 2 tracks shown into Megalong Cleft – the present route and another which appears to descend the cliffs from the Bonnie Doon track network (which has mostly been lost over the years).
My videos:Nelly's Glen Katoomba (here), Explorers Tree to Bonnie Doon (here), Bonnie Doon Track (here).

The top of the Megalong Cleft steps
Ethel Waterfall



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Thursday, 26 February 2015

MERMAID’S CAVE BLACKHEATH NSW AUSTRALIA

“There is a beautiful gully near Blackheath, leading from what is known as the Mermaid's Cave - why so called only those who named it can know: one thinks of a sandy beach with white-crested waves, a cavern decked with glistening shells, and a lady with a long tail combing her hair. There is nothing of that sort to be seen, but after scrambling down a stony path and jumping over rocks, where a fall would be most inconvenient, one comes upon a shining pool, which, fed by a stream trickling through a cleft in the over-arching nook, in its turn feeds another stream, which gurgling over a rocky
path makes a deep gorge glorious with greenery. Here are ferns, from the majestic tree spreading protecting arms over the clear water to the tiny plant whose delicate fronds beautify every nook and corner and make all nature lovely. "Oh, if I could only take a little bit of the gully home," said one of us, "I shouldn't want a bush-house." "Just so, my dear madam, but this is a world of work, and nothing good can be got without effort." We appreciated this answer when the time came to go back, but hard work though it was we felt amply repaid by the memory of beauty, which once seen can never be forgotten.”
Charles Bayless photograph circa 1885
This poetic description comes from the Illustrated Sydney News, February 16, 1884 and is similar to several others of the time. Blackheath was in its infancy in those days, the first lots having been sold at a government auction in 1879. Development was slow at first and by the time of the Illustrated Sydney News report the population would have been only a few hundred. Nevertheless, Mermaid’s Cave appears to have been the first Blackheath attraction after Govett’s Leap and the Recreation Reserve surrounding it must have been declared in the 1880’s. It is now administered by the Blue Mountains City Council.
Naturally, the history of the place goes back into the Dream Time. Whether this is based on folk memory or not I cannot say, but it is a place which all visitors should enter with respect.
From the movie - source given on right
That this has not always been the case is apparent by comparing the scene today with old photographs, which reveal the amount of destruction of the rain forest which has taken place. I doubt that filming scenes from the movie “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” in 1985 did it much good either. For more information see here.
Other useful references are my You Tube video (here) and Jack Merriman’s photographs (here).
The place is easy to find. Cross the railway at the level crossing in Blackheath and immediately turn left into Station Street. Turn right along Shipley Road soon after, which you follow for about a kilometre to the Megalong Valley turnoff on the left. About another kilometre further on, the road goes through a deep cutting, at the end of which you will see the Mermaid’s Cave car park on the right. The track is signposted opposite the car park. Take care here – descending traffic cannot see you crossing the road! The walk takes 10-15 minutes and you can return by following the road back to the car park. All this is shown in the video. Fortunately traffic is light, except perhaps at weekends.

Source: JEM Russell's Pictorial Guide to the Blue Mountains 1882-85
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Tuesday, 26 August 2014

O’SULLIVAN’S FOLLY, NARROW NECK KATOOMBA NSW AUSTRALIA

O’SULLIVAN’S FOLLY, NARROW NECK KATOOMBA NSW AUSTRALIA

Near the lowest point on Glenraphael Drive, a well-made road leads off to the right. Vehicles won’t get far along it, however, as there is a locked gate at the first bend. See my video on Narrow Neck lookouts for more information.
The road leads down to a Sydney Water pumping station at the cliff edge. This is an historic spot, because in this vicinity workers from the oil shale mines in the Megalong Valley below once had a series of ladders to get up the cliffs at a point where they are at their lowest. More recently ladders were built here when the pipeline was constructed from the Fish River Dam. I can remember climbing them several times in the 1960’s. 
Pick marks
Since then, the top and bottom ladders have been removed to discourage climbers from using them.
It is not with ladders or the pipeline that we are concerned here, rather with the road itself which has long been known locally as “O’Sullivan’s Folly”. The fact that the cliffs were lower here, and the presence of the miner’s route to Katoomba, gave root to the idea that it might be possible to construct a road at this point into the Megalong Valley. As you look at the cliffs you might wonder how the road was to be built from where it now ends down to the valley floor.
Jesus told the story of a man who began to build a tower, but left it unfinished when he ran out of money (and thereby made himself look foolish). So it was with this road.
Edward William O’Sullivan was born in Launceston, Tasmania, in 1846 of Irish Catholic parents. He eventually settled in NSW where he became a successful journalist and printer. He strongly supported the fledgling Labor Party of the day and by all reports was an honest, hard-working man. Having been elected to the NSW parliament in 1885 as the representative for Queanbeyan, he soon became one of its most prominent members. In 1899, as Secretary for Public Works, he approved the expenditure of funds for the construction of a road from Katoomba into the Megalong Valley via the approximate route of the then existing miners’ ladders.
The money ran out long before the road could be completed (if it ever could have been) and jokers began calling it “O’Sullivan’s Folly”, which, of course they still do. It doesn’t ring true to O’Sullivan’s character to waste public money that way. He would have been thinking of the jobs the project created and the benefit to the residents of the valley below. Perhaps he was just given bad advice by Katoomba residents who should have known better.

My interest in EW O’Sullivan goes back more than 30 years to the time I found several bottles underneath an old house. Much the most interesting was a Codd or marble bottle from the town of Queanbeyan, bearing the inscription “GN Morton Queanbeyan EWOS The Keystone” surrounding a picture of a man’s head. The portrait is, of course, none other than that of the subject of this blog. GN (George Nairn) Morton was a cordial maker in the town around 1900-1915. 
 
But what did “The Keystone” mean? O’Sullivan died in 1910, and in the various newspaper reports of his life I discovered that he frequently referred to himself as “The Keystone of the Democratic Arch”. I now believe that Morton had this bottle designed to honour a man he greatly admired and that this probably happened soon after EWOS’s death. So it was that the soft drink bottles of Queanbeyan (and, as it turned out, those of the new Federal capital, Canberra) bore the likeness of a politician.
The design remained in use for perhaps 10 years, long enough, at least for the old-fashioned marble bottles to be replaced by new-fangled crown seals. These bottles are in great demand from collectors today. My specimen has been packed away for years and the photograph is one I extracted from an online auction catalogue. It wouldn’t surprise me to see it bring $1000 +, which isn’t far short of what O’Sullivan’s Folly cost to build.
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Sunday, 25 May 2014

MARK’S TOMB: MEDLOW BATH, BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

MARK’S TOMB: MEDLOW BATH, 
BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA













      The story of Mark’s Tomb is a fascinating one. So that there is no misunderstanding, this is not a real tomb, but would have been if Mark Foy had had his way.
Mark Foy (1865-1950) was a successful Sydney businessman. Along with his brother Francis, the department store was commenced in 1885 in Liverpool St, in what was then the heart of the Sydney retail district. Fashionable clothing one was one of the store’s specialties. The business (named for their father, Mark Foy Senior) thrived but eventually went the way of similar retailers in that part of the city, closing its doors in 1980. The building survives as the Downing Centre, a group of courthouses.
Apart from the business, the name of Mark Foy will forever be associated with two of his major interests – sailing and the Hydro-Majestic Hotel at Medlow Bath. It is with the second of these that we are, of course, now concerned.
To understand the story of the famous Medlow Bath landmark, I suggest that you download a copy of a guide to the Hydro-Majestic Hotel, from around 1910. Go to Trove here, select “Books”, tick “Available Online” and type in the key words: Hydro Majestic Medlow Bath. Press Enter, and a short list will come up. Select the second of these, which you can now download as a PDF file. It will only take a few minutes at most. You will be amazed at the opulence of the place.
The Hydro was undoubtedly a pet project of Mark’s. The “hydro” in the name refers to the idea of 
water treatments in alleviating – even curing – a wide range of ailments. The “Bath” in Medlow Bath takes us back to the same idea in Europe, notably “taking the cure” in places like the hot springs in Bath, England, and the many spas across Europe. It is still widely practiced today, the hot springs of New Zealand are extensively used for the same purpose and Sue and I appreciate the hydrotherapy pool here in Lithgow where we live.
I can’t say that the idea was as successful as Mark Foy would have liked, but the hotel certainly grew in fame as one of the places to be seen at in the Blue Mountains, at the top of the list with the Carrington in Katoomba, in fact. Foy lived to see his dream hotel managed by others who probably didn’t share his vision for the place, and to see it taken over as a military hospital for American servicemen in World War 11. Since then it has had many ups and downs and at the moment (May 2014) there is major construction and refurbishment going on there. Hydrotherapy will again be available at the Hydro. One thing will never change, though, and that is the superb views of the cliffs and valleys from the rear hotel balconies and lawns. Visit this site here for information on the hotel today and into the future.
Foy was so taken with the area that he wanted to be buried there, selecting the eroded sandstone cave we know as “Mark’s Tomb” as his final resting place. I don’t know what his family thought about the idea, if they even knew about it before his will was read. As things turned out, the courts overturned the instruction to build the tomb there and now all that remains is the sign pointing down the hill from the Wonderland Track reading “Mark’s Tomb”, and even this looks like it won’t last much longer.
You can read the newspaper articles from the Sydney Morning Herald (Mark Foy Left £68,981) and (Elaborate Mark Foy Tomb Need Not Be Built), both from 1951.
To find Mark’s Tomb, go to the end of Belgravia St, follow the “TRACK” sign on the tree and take the first track to the right. About 15 minutes along this (the Wonderland Track) you will see a track branching off down the hill to the left. This is where the “Mark’s Tomb” sign is nailed to a tree on the left side of the track. My video about the Wonderland Track and Mark’s Tomb may be found here. 

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Wednesday, 23 April 2014

BONNIE DOON TRACK, KATOOMBA BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

BONNIE DOON TRACK, KATOOMBA 
BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

View of Nellie's Glen from North's Lookout
The area known as “Bonnie Doon” lies on the western side of Katoomba, south of the “Explorers' Tree” and adjacent to Nellie’s Glen. There have been tracks through this area since the 19th century, though the present day one appears to have been constructed about 25 years ago, judging from its deteriorating condition. Today’s track seems to be in a different location from those shown on old maps.
The track basically runs between two lookouts (North’s and Therabulat) crossing several minor streams as it winds through bush land. Sadly, there are no views of the cascades and waterfalls which the walker can hear further down the valleys. It is as if the track has been constructed in the most economical way possible to connect two points while staying away from the more difficult places, which no doubt are the very ones the walker would like to see.                                                                                 

It is possible to see the lowermost of the so-called Bonnie Doon Falls from Peckman’s Plateau Lookout, on the cliff top south of Therabulat Lookout (see my video here) or from a track which leaves the Six Foot track in Nellie’s Glen. This is the fall identified as Ethel Fall in early accounts of the locality. The other falls (3, according to the 1909 map illustrated) remain hidden from view.
Access to the area is from the Nellie’s Glen car park (just past where the Explorers' Tree used to be), turn left off the highway), which takes you down to North’s Lookout and from the end of Stuart’s Road, off Cliff Drive. This leads to Therabulat Lookout (take a left branch). Either way, if you  
The view from Therabulat Lookout to Megalong Valley
continue far enough along the track, you will encounter a newly constructed track coming from who knows where (no signpost in March 2014). Why this track has been pushed through a declared Fauna Study Area (thus destroying hundreds of thousands of native plants) is anyone’s guess.
The other disturbing feature of the walk is the evidence which remains around Nellie’s Glen of the environmental damage caused when an attempt was made to construct a fire trail down the Glen some years ago. One could be excused for thinking that the powers-that-be are less concerned about the scenic and conservation values of this part of Katoomba than they are, say, of those around Katoomba Falls and Echo Point. When you read old newspaper accounts of Bonnie Doon you will soon discover that this has always been an area which has suffered from the hands of timber getters, wild flower pickers, bush rock gatherers and the like. It is an attractive and interesting place and deserves to be better appreciated.
From a 1905 guide book
There are many accounts of walks in this area. Simply Google “Bonnie Doon” Katoomba to come up with a list.  My video on Bonnie Doon is here and the one on Peckman’s Plateau is here. 
The top of Ethel Fall from North's Lookout
Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo
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Friday, 4 April 2014

CLIFF DRIVE LOOKOUTS, KATOOMBA NSW AUSTRALIA

CLIFF DRIVE LOOKOUTS, KATOOMBA NSW AUSTRALIA

Eagle Hawk Lookout
In September 1937 a section of Cliff Drive, Katoomba was declared open by the Hon Eric Spooner, Minister for Works and Local Government in NSW. Mr Spooner was involved in a number of other official openings around Katoomba around this time, so we can assume that he liked the place.
The Cliff Drive, constructed by the then Katoomba Municipal Council, opened up a number of lookouts in places which must have been reasonably difficult to get to before then.
Approaching from the Scenic World end, the first is Eagle Hawk Lookout, which offers one of the best views of the Three Sisters and the cliffs between Echo Point and Katoomba Falls. There is limited parking (only two or three car spaces, which might all be taken up by a tourist coach). The lookout is down a short flight of steps, but even from the top the view is quite remarkable.                                           
Orphan Rock from Malaita Point Lookout

Malaita Point Lookout follows soon after, also on the left. There is presently no sign, only a gap in the safety railing to indicate the beginning of the track. There is parking on the opposite side of the road; however, as it is on fairly sharp bend, drivers need to take special care when making the necessary U turns on what has become a busy road.
The island of Malaita is one of the Solomon Islands and gave its name to a well know steamship serving the Pacific islands in the first half of the 20th century. Malaita Point might have taken its name from the ship. Others have suggested that the name was given because of the presence of a group of Malaita islanders who were undergoing training with a mission society in premises nearby, early in the century.
The view from the lookout is spectacular and includes a rare view of the back of Orphan Rock. The cliffs are popular with rock climbers and were the scene of a recent fatal accident. See this Sydney Morning Herald article for more information.
Landslide Lookout from Narrow Neck Lookout
Next comes Landslide Lookout, with parking on both sides of the road. The track to the lookout descends to a point looking towards the Narrow Neck. Standing there you will be quite unaware of the fact that you are standing on the brink of the great 1931 landslide, a fact which is brought home only when you look back from Narrow Neck Lookout.
The Cyclorama Point track is immediately opposite that to Landslide Lookout. When you read accounts of the views from this spot (eg this one from the Herald, 18th September 1937) you ascend the steps with great anticipation. Alas, the bush has grown to such an extent that the view is almost totally obscured today. The whole article makes good reading and may be read in Trove by clicking here.
Narrow Neck Lookout is several minutes further on. It has the best parking of all these lookouts and also a picnic table (not the shelter that used to be here). Tree growth is rapidly obscuring the otherwise fantastic view of the Narrow Neck. Don’t miss the view on the left of the cliff face remaining after the 1931 landslide. 
Note April 2024. You now have to pay to park here.

Hilda’s Lookout (source of name unknown – perhaps she lived nearby) is relatively recent and is also suffering from obscuring vegetation.
My video of these places may be found here. 

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Monday, 10 March 2014

CAHILL’S LOOKOUT, KATOOMBA BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

CAHILL’S LOOKOUT, KATOOMBA 
BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

John Joseph Cahill was the Premier of New South Wales from 1952 to 1959. It was in his term of office that such well known Sydney landmarks as the Cahill Expressway at Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House were planned. The Blue Mountains City Council named this magnificent lookout in his honour.
Unlike most of the Katoomba lookouts such as those at Echo Point and Scenic World, which overlook the Jamison Valley, this one overlooks the Megalong Valley. The two valleys are separated by the Narrow Neck, a remnant of the sandstone plateau which projects southwards for many kilometres.
The streams which formed the Megalong Valley have eroded through the Sydney Basin sediments into the underlying granite and other older rocks. Much of the western side of the valley has been cleared for sheep and cattle grazing.
The Boar's Head
Two well known landmarks visible from Cahill’s Lookout are the Boar’s Head Rock (easily seen on your left towards Narrow Neck) and the Six Foot Track to Jenolan Caves. The track may be seen snaking through the forest below the lookout (the bottom one, that is) after the descent through Nellie’s Glen, which is on your right.
There is a picnic area alongside the parking area at the beginning of the concrete path and steps leading down to the lookout. Unfortunately there are no toilet facilities. However there is a tap near the path and an overgrown drinking fountain (bubbler to we older Australians) at the lookout. I can’t say whether they work or not, but the ones at Sublime Point lookout, which date from the same period, certainly do.
This spot is one of the best places in the Blue Mountains to enjoy a sunset, because of its westerly aspect. It is reached from the loop section of Cliff Drive (Blue Mountains Drive), shortly after passing the golf course, proceeding from the direction of Scenic World.
My video on Cahill’s Lookout may be found here. Another video, taken on a very windy day, is here. 
The picnic area and access paths were reconstructed after the 2014 bushfire and now attract many more visitors. See my video "Cahill's Lookout Reopened" here.

Nellie's Glen from Cahill's Lookout
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